Torvalds on Linux Kernel 2.6.28-rc1: More Drivers Than Ever
Linus Torvalds presents the first test candidate of Linux Kernel 2.6.28 on his mailing list.
"The changes in -rc1 are (as usual) too many to really enumerate, with the bulk of them being - again as usual - drivers," writes Torvalds in the gmane.linux.kernel newsgroup. Having merged the drivers from the staging tree makes this "doubly true." Nearly half the merged drivers are in the staging tree that Greg Kroah-Hartman created back in June 2008. This tree was to hold drivers and other additions to the Linux kernel that were not quite ready to be merged. Developers can adopt the staging tree at new kernel installation, with the caveat that the drivers might be something less than stable.
Torvalds presents further statistics for those who appreciate them. The kernel involved 7,141 non-merge commits, 419 of them merges to separate developer source code archives. Each change removed on average 39 lines and added 104 lines of code. About 880 authors contributed, of which 183 had 10 or more commits and 340 had just one commit. Linux users lagging behind on updates can take an example from Kroah-Hartman, who just recently committed a fix made in April 2002. With a twinkle in his eye, Torvalds presents Kroah-Hartman with the "most screwed-up clock award": "it's a fix to a driver that was merged this July!"
Linux Kernel 2.6.28-rc1 is available for download here. Torvalds wishes everyone fun in testing, "and report any interesting anomalies you find."
Related content
-
Kroah-Hartman: Remove Hyper-V Driver from Kernel?
Microsoft caused a sensation with its release of its Hyper-V virtualization driver -- now its inclusion in the Linux kernel could be in doubt.
-
Linux 2.6.25 without Closed Source USB Drivers
A controversial patch for the imminent kernel 2.6.25 is causing much debate in the developer community: in a similar move to one he made two years ago, the well-known kernel developer Greg Kroah-Hartman has submitted a patch that prevents closed source USB drivers from using the kernel's USB driver API.
-
Greg's Kernel Report: Android Drivers to Be Dropped, Same Possible Fate for Microsoft Hyper-V
Kernel developer and Novell coworker Greg Kroah-Hartman manages new drivers in a separate tree for the Linux drivers project. He most recently reported that a few projects will have to depart from Kernel 2.6.33, among them also Google.
-
Microsoft to Add Hyper-V Drivers to Linux Kernel
What seemed impossible years ago could now become a reality: a Linux driver from Microsoft in the kernel.
-
Video: Android and Linux Kernel
At FOSDEM 2010 in Brussels, Linux Magazine Online pulled Android commentator Jan Wildeboer and kernel staging tree maintainer Greg Kroah-Hartman away from the daily events to talk with them on camera.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Wayland 1.24 Released with Fixes and New Features
Wayland continues to move forward, while X11 slowly vanishes into the shadows, and the latest release includes plenty of improvements.
-
Bugs Found in sudo
Two critical flaws allow users to gain access to root privileges.
-
Fedora Continues 32-Bit Support
In a move that should come as a relief to some portions of the Linux community, Fedora will continue supporting 32-bit architecture.
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 Drops bcachefs
After a clash over some late fixes and disagreements between bcachefs's lead developer and Linus Torvalds, bachefs is out.
-
ONLYOFFICE v9 Embraces AI
Like nearly all office suites on the market (except LibreOffice), ONLYOFFICE has decided to go the AI route.
-
Two Local Privilege Escalation Flaws Discovered in Linux
Qualys researchers have discovered two local privilege escalation vulnerabilities that allow hackers to gain root privileges on major Linux distributions.
-
New TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro Powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300
The TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen10 offers serious power that is ready for your business, development, or entertainment needs.
-
LibreOffice Tested as Possible Office 365 Alternative
Another major organization has decided to test the possibility of migrating from Microsoft's Office 365 to LibreOffice.
-
Linux Mint 20 Reaches EOL
With Linux Mint 20 at its end of life, the time has arrived to upgrade to Linux Mint 22.
-
TuxCare Announces Support for AlmaLinux 9.2
Thanks to TuxCare, AlmaLinux 9.2 (and soon version 9.6) now enjoys years of ongoing patching and compliance.